Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan Mitcham General Cemetery Draft Management Plan for consultation City of Mitcham Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Mitcham General Cemetery is located at the base of the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges in the City of Mitcham. The cemetery, officially opened in 1854, has considerable heritage significance through the graves of famous early settlers, the architecture of its graves and its use in tracing family genealogies. In addition to its heritage value, Mitcham General Cemetery is an important part of Mitcham’s parks and gardens. As such, the cemetery has considerable potential not only as an historic site, but also as a place for passive recreation and should be upgraded and maintained accordingly. Every opportunity should be taken to promote the cemetery in this way. To ensure the conservation and sustainability of the Cemetery, the City of Mitcham initiated the preparation of a Management Plan. The Management Plan addresses the following key issues: · Preserving the heritage value of the cemetery. · Improving the management, landscaping and maintenance of the cemetery. · Identifying additional burial areas throughout the cemetery. · Improving the operation and administration of the cemetery. The Management Plan examines a wide range of issues involving physical works, monuments and graves, leases, historical records and administration activities associated with the management of the cemetery. A number of actions are proposed to address these issues. Detailed operating plans involving a site management plan to integrate existing and future physical works and a maintenance management plan are proposed to address issues involving physical works. In conjunction with these operating plans, the Cemetery Management Plan recommends the following actions: · To undertake a comprehensive heritage survey. · To establish a heritage graves data base. · To prepare a monumental policy. · To undertake a review of leases. · To continue resourcing administration to ensure cemetery management responsibilities are met. Additional resources are required to implement these proposed actions. The appointment of a project officer, initially for a twelve-month period, is recommended to undertake and coordinate the Action Plan. i Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Management Plan is an initiative of the City of Mitcham and has been prepared with the support and assistance of the Mitcham Cemetery Sub-committee (previously the Advisory Committee), Council staff and consultants. The Mitcham Cemetery Sub-committee was established by the Engineering and Environmental Services Committee to develop a Management Plan for the ongoing operation of the cemetery. Thanks are due to all of the following: Mitcham General Cemetery Sub-committee Cr Bob Marshall (Chair) - Council representative Cr Catherine Hart - Council representative Cr Nanette Lawson - Council representative Cr Chris Adcock - Council representative Maggie Ragless - Community Historian Jeff Milde - Community representative Rob Bonython - Community representative Sue Scheiffers - Community representative (previously Council representative) David Lloyd - Former Council representative on Advisory Committee Pam Oborn - Former Community member on Advisory Committee Council Staff Andrew Ciric - Manager Technical Services Meredith Nunan - Project Officer Jo Moreau - Technical Officer Consultants Nicall Cemetery Management Services - prepared the report on the Mitcham General Cemetery for the preparation of a Management Plan. Cathy Jervis - Project Officer for the Management Plan. ii Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii 1 INTRODUCTION 3 2 MANAGEMENT PLAN 3 3 KEY ISSUES 3 4 SITE DESCRIPTION 4 5 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 4 6 SITE AMENITY AND LANDSCAPING 6 6.1 Roads and Pathways 6 6.1.1 Vehicle Access 7 6.1.2 Pedestrian Access 8 6.2 Stormwater Seepage 9 6.3 Water Reticulation 9 6.4 Fencing and Entrance gates 10 6.5 Public Conveniences 10 6.6 Landscaping 10 6.7 Public shelters, Seating, Signage and Information 11 6.7.1 Public shelters 11 6.7.2 Seating 12 6.7.3 Signage 12 6.7.4 Information 12 7 NEW DEVELOPMENT 13 8 SITE MANAGEMENT AND MAINTENANCE 14 8.1 Site Management 14 8.2 Maintenance 14 9 MONUMENTS AND GRAVES 15 9.1 Significant Monuments and Graves 15 9.2 New Memorials and maintenance of Mitcham General Cemetery’s Character 16 10 LICENCES AND LEASES 16 10.1 Cemetery Fees and Charges 16 1 Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan 10.2 Expired Licences/Leases 17 10.3 Re-use of Graves 17 11 ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATION 18 11.1 Administration 18 11.2 Operation 20 11.3 Coordinate Action Plan 20 APPENDICES APPENDIX A 21 APPENDIX B 22 APPENDIX C 23 2 Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan 1 INTRODUCTION The Mitcham General Cemetery was officially opened in 1854 after Mitcham residents successfully petitioned the colonial government to grant land for burial purposes. As available land within the cemetery approached full utilisation in the 1930’s, Mitcham and Unley Councils established a joint controlling authority to purchase land along Goodwood Road to establish and operate Centennial Park Cemetery. Centennial Park opened in 1938 and continues to serve the wider Adelaide community today. Over the past 50-60 years since the opening of Centennial Park, the Mitcham General Cemetery has had limited use. Consequently, the annual income has been minimal and Council has undertaken the maintenance of the site within its annual budgets. Some deterioration of the cemetery site and infrastructure has occurred and upgrading works are currently under way involving the rotunda, drainage, roads and footpaths. The Mitcham General Cemetery has substantial heritage value through the graves of famous early settlers, the architecture of its monuments and graves and its use in tracing family genealogies. 2 MANAGEMENT PLAN This Management Plan has been prepared by the City of Mitcham to ensure the conservation and sustainability of the Mitcham General Cemetery. The Management Plan outlines proposals and guidelines to effectively restore, improve, protect, maintain and manage the cemetery. 3 KEY ISSUES The key issues addressed in the Management Plan include: 1. Preserving the heritage value of the cemetery. 2. Improving the management, landscaping and maintenance of the cemetery by: 3 Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan · The repair and restoration of gravesites, headstones and pathways damaged by water ingress and erosion. · Infrastructure improvements throughout the cemetery with the construction of water table drains, sub-surface drains and paved pathways. · Enhancing the amenity of the cemetery through design features including landscaping, shelters, seating, signage and an information bay. 3. Identifying additional burial areas throughout the cemetery. 4. Improving the operation and administration of the cemetery. 4 SITE DESCRIPTION Mitcham General Cemetery is located at the base of the foothills of the Mount Lofty Ranges in Section 884 of Adelaide, City of Mitcham. The cemetery is bounded by Blythewood Road to the north, Old Belair Road to the west and south and medium density housing to the east. Within the Mitcham Cemetery boundary there are three separately owned cemeteries. These are: · Mitcham General Cemetery – owned and administered by the City of Mitcham. · Anglican Cemetery – owned and administered by the Anglican Church. · The Sisters of St Joseph Cemetery – owned and administered by the Sisters of Joseph. The Mitcham General Cemetery is divided into 6 sections. Refer to Figure 1 - Appendix A. 5 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND (extract from: Dr Rob Nicol (2000; p2-3) Mitcham has an early and distinctive place in the history of the European settlement of South Australia. The land was first surveyed in 1837 and the village of Mitcham was laid out in 1840. The area became an important source of vegetables, fruit, dairy products and building stone for the rapidly expanding city of Adelaide. In January 1853 a public 4 Mitcham General Cemetery Management Plan meeting of Mitcham residents successfully pushed for the development of a District Council. When it was proclaimed on 12 May 1853 it became the first District Council in South Australia. Public expressions of civic responsibility also gave Mitcham an early place in cemetery development in South Australia. Mitcham residents petitioned the colonial government in June 1853 for a grant of land for burial purposes. Spokesman, the Reverend Edward Burnett argued that it was a serious inconvenience and source of expense to the Mitcham settlers that their closest cemetery was the one on Adelaide’s West Terrace. Burnett and his supporters also hoped to bring a greater sense of dignity to burial processes. West Terrace Cemetery had already become a source of public scandal. “I am bound to add” wrote Burnett, “from my own knowledge of the unseemly practices in reference to the burial of the dead which are now resorted to, my conviction of the great urgency of the want which the petition seeks to have supplied”. The Mitcham petitioners were granted four acres for burial purposes, half to be vested in a trust for the use of the Established United Church of England and Ireland (Anglican) and the other half in a trust for members of other religious denominations. The grants were dated 2 April 1854 and the first trustees of the General Cemetery were prominent Baptists, the Rev. William Finlayson, the Rev. Thomas Playford and Mr George